Egyptian artist lights up to highlight dangers of tobacco

Record ID: 906221

  • Title: Egyptian artist lights up to highlight dangers of tobacco
  • Date: 13th August 2017
  • Summary: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (AUGUST 10, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AL-HABROUK MAKING TOBACCO ARTWORK VARIOUS OF TOBACCO PORTRAITS ON WALL ALBERT EINSTEIN TOBACCO PORTRAIT ON WALL AL-HABROUK MAKING TOBACCO ARTWORK AL-HABROUK MAKING TOBACCO ARTWORK / LAPTOP ON DESK SHOWING PHOTO OF MAN AL-HABROUK LOOKING DOWN / ARTWORK OF DOG ON WALL AL-HABROUK MAKING JOHNNY DEPP TOBACCO ARTWORK AL-HABROUK SETTING TOBACCO ON FIRE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TOBACCO ARTIST, ABDELRAHMAN AL-HABROUK, SAYING: "As soon as I uploaded a drawing on Facebook, no one had seen anything like it before I uploaded it. The first comment I got said I finally found a good use for tobacco. The message was very easy to understand, which is true; I wanted to make something good out of something that is considered harmful. And the first comment I got was I finally found a good use for tobacco. All the comments are very similar; tobacco has finally become useful. This made me really happy that the message I was sending was easily understood." BOB MARLEY TOBACCO PORTRAIT ON WALL AL-HABROUK LAYING TOBACCO ON PAPER AL-HABROUK WORKING ON JOHNNY DEPP TOBACCO ART WORK / LAPTOP ON DESK SHOWING PICTURE OF JOHNNY DEPP AL-HABROUK LAYING TOBACCO ON PAPER IN SHAPE OF JOHNNY DEPP AL-HABROUK LOOKING DOWN ON ARTWORK NEXT TO PACKET OF CIGARETTES AL-HABROUK LAYING TOBACCO ON PAPER IN SHAPE OF JOHNNY DEPP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TOBACCO ARTIST, ABDELRAHMAN AL-HABROUK, SAYING: "The idea is that I'm trying to make the art live longer. I really get upset when I work hard on a drawing using certain materials, and have to dismantle it in the end, as if I were drawing with salt or something. But because I want to save the artwork this got me thinking maybe if I burn the tobacco it might have an effect or an impact on the texture of the artwork, so I started testing it. I'm still struggling with this but I'm working on getting better." INCOMPLETE TOBACCO ARTWORK ON TABLE / LAPTOP ON DESK SHOWING PHOTO OF MAN TOBACCO PORTRAIT ON WALL SHOWING ANIMATION WORK OF TIM BURTON AL-HABROUK LOOKING DOWN ON ARTWORK VARIOUS OF AL-HABROUK MAKING TOBACCO ARTWORK VARIOUS OF AL-HABROUK SETTING TOBACCO ON FIRE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TOBACCO ARTIST, ABDELRAHMAN AL-HABROUK, SAYING: "Of course, I'm still dreaming of getting better at this, I want to learn how to make various different textures, I also want to participate in art galleries in the near future. And I really want my work to reach as much people as possible. I really want people to know who I am and what I am capable of producing. But what I want most is for my artwork to remain unique." VARIOUS OF AL-HABROUK MAKING TOBACCO ARTWORK OF JOHNNY DEPP VARIOUS OF AL-HABROUK SETTING TOBACCO ON FIRE
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2017 14:05
  • Keywords: Egypt Art Tobacco burning tobacco artwork drawing
  • Location: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
  • City: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016TZNKUT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Egyptian artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk sets fire to his tobacco-based portraits to draw attention to the dangers of smoking.
    Cigarette packs litter a small studio where al-Habrouk creates portraits using a combination of tobacco and gun powder.
    By breaking cigarettes in half, al-Habrouk says he's deriving a benefit from something that would otherwise be harmful.
    A relatively new artist, the 23-year-old said he only started to draw after his first year of university.
    Now in his third year, al-Habrouk says he's been drawing with tobacco for around a year and is seeing a lot of positive feedback on his artwork.
    "As soon as I uploaded a drawing on Facebook, no one had seen anything like it before I uploaded it. The first comment I got said I finally found a good use for tobacco. The message was very easy to understand, which is true; I wanted to make something good out of something that is considered harmful," he told Reuters from his hometown of Alexandria.
    Al-Habrouk's art mainly focuses on portraits of humans or animals, which he says he's tested with a number of different materials.
    Coffee grains, salt, and sand are just some of the materials he's used, but he found the best way to preserve his creations is by burning the purest types of tobacco.
    "The idea is that I'm trying to make the art live longer, I really get upset when I work hard on a drawing and when I move it, it's as if I was drawing with salt or something, I want to save the artwork in this form. This got me thinking maybe if I burn the tobacco it might have an effect or an impact on the texture of the artwork, so I started to test it. I'm still struggling with this but I'm working on getting better," he said.
    After creating the artwork, al-Habrouk sprinkles gun powder and sets it on fire, the residue then leaves an imprint on the paper.
    The number of cigarette packs used depends on the size of the portrait, but al-Habrouk sometimes can use up to four packs on a single drawing.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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